BPA Membership tops 150 pounds

[yoink 321]

As taken from the BPA website:

"Full BPA Membership for 07/08 is now J152.10"



I thought there was supposed to be an EGM for any significant increase?

so a 30% increase isn't significant?

The BPA makes me so bloody angry sometimes.

[TaylorC 0]

thats like 300 bucks canadian...

We pay like 82 dollars a year for membership

[Adriandavies 0]

Quote

As taken from the BPA website:

"Full BPA Membership for 07/08 is now J152.10"



I thought there was supposed to be an EGM for any significant increase?

so a 30% increase isn't significant?

The BPA makes me so bloody angry sometimes.

try www.ukskydiver.co.uk for more debate on the matter.

[mr2mk1g 10]

um... I thought there was going to be an EGM to ratify the final figure in any event? Never mind whether the increase was "significant"... My recollection of the AGM was that the Chair advised that having an EGM was the only real option open to us...

Then again, EGM or not if that's the price quoted by the only insurance co. willing to cover us, that's the price to be paid.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Biggest costs to us is the $4,500,000(CAD) third party liability insurance we get with our membership. Plus a mag...

[Adriandavies 0]

Quote

um... I thought there was going to be an EGM to ratify the final figure in any event? Never mind whether the increase was "significant"... My recollection of the AGM was that the Chair advised that having an EGM was the only real option open to us...

Then again, EGM or not if that's the price quoted by the only insurance co. willing to cover us, that's the price to be paid.

If you look in the chairman's address to the AGM on p4 John Smyth says 'We thought that you may decide to leave the Council to negotiate on your behalf the best value premium and insurance policy with the insurers. Or that you may decide to hold an EGM formally to approve the insurance premium once we know what it is.'

It looks like the new membership £ has been approved by the Council without further reference to the membership despite the possibility of holding an EGM.

I know we can't jump without insurance but I personally would still have liked the opportunity to have a vote on the subject. I would have expected the vote to be carried but at least this would have followed discussion directly with us the members.

[mr2mk1g 10]

I meant the comments he made immediately after the vote to accept the accounts as they stood at the time of the AGM.

That's when he said, (after the vote had already passed), that the AGM voting to accept the accounts meant there would be an EGM once the insurance element was known and that that was the only real option.

I think recall him even saying that the Council didn't want to be in a position where it was given carte-blanch to accept whatever figures were put forward and there were looks and nods exchanged between him and other council members who were sat to his right-rear.

At least that's how I understood it before I started drinking that night...

As you say, in reality it simply doesn't make a difference as clearly an EGM would have had to accept the figure... it just surprised me, thats all.

[Scoop 0]

When are they releasing the BPA tampon to contain the bleeding from our vicious arse raping?

So many jumpers I met in Empuriabrava who were disgruntled Brits. Fed up with BPA prices and bullshit regulations they are licenced by other countries governing bodies and just jump abroad. I can't blame them either. £150?! You can get 5 return flights to Spain for that Its not like UK jump tickets are cheap either

I'll still pay up of course, because I like being able to just stroll out on a nice day and jump locally. BUt its not good

[/moan]

[popsjumper 2]

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Biggest costs to us is the $4,500,000(CAD) third party liability insurance we get with our membership. Plus a mag...

I'm all for making good on it when you screw up but $4,500,000(CAD)???????????

That's nothing more than an invitation to sue you for more and more over and above what's legitimate! I favor "The Uninsured XYZ Company" approach.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[lowie 0]

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thats like 300 bucks canadian...

We pay like 82 dollars a year for membership

Yeah but it probably balances out when you guys probably earn more, get cheaper jumps and your kit cost less (I said sarcastically)

[174fps 1]

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thats like 300 bucks canadian...

We pay like 82 dollars a year for membership

At todays exchange that would be C$351
CSPA membership is C$84 which comes with C$2,000,000 worldwide
3rd party insurance to CSPA members normally resident in Canada.
the BPA insurance does not cover the US which is why they have to
buy USPA memberships when they jump in the US

[rhys 0]

Maybe the BPA might give British competitors at the world champs a Little more than a t-Shirt now.

frig it was cold in Germany and I felt sorry for the British competitors that had only T-Shirts supplied for a Uniform.

The NZPF charge only NZ$100 = 36 GB pounds. All members get a couple of issues of NZ skydiver magazine and all NZ competitors(in world champs and cups) have all entry fees paid for and a personalised tracksuit stating name, discipline, and event.

Many counties had to pay their own way, the USA teams only got a tracksuit and had to sew the USPA badge on themselves .

The French however are heavily subsidised by their government and are even on payrolls in some cases.

we heard the French National anthem more than any other

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[Johnsisland 0]

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Biggest costs to us is the $4,500,000(CAD) third party liability insurance we get with our membership.

Well, the $4.5 third party liability sounds good. USPA cost is aprox. $50, but only includes US$25,000. Not worth that much...I could crash a BMW and cost more than that.

Considering the exchange rate, my gut says we have far less insurance for half the membership fee. Or did I screw up the math? Bet not.

J

Arch? I can arch just fine with my back to the ground.

[Zeemax 0]

i noticed in the BPA mag there are two adverts for the same insurance company.

Anyone know what it's about? It doesn't mention anywhere on it that it is travel insurance, just that it covers skydiving.

Ok, here's the link and had a quick read. It says the anual policy covers you world wide, but their one jump policy is only valid in the UK?

http://www.extremeplus.co.uk

Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE
Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies

[topper 0]

Quote

i noticed in the BPA mag there are two adverts for the same insurance company.

Anyone know what it's about? It doesn't mention anywhere on it that it is travel insurance, just that it covers skydiving.

Ok, here's the link and had a quick read. It says the anual policy covers you world wide, but their one jump policy is only valid in the UK?

http://www.extremeplus.co.uk

Is this just designed for tandem passengers? the following is an exclusion from the "Policy for Annual Jumpers"

Quote

as a result of the Insured Person
engaging in flying of any kind
other than as a passenger

[maxdog 0]

Quote

Quote

i noticed in the BPA mag there are two adverts for the same insurance company.

Anyone know what it's about? It doesn't mention anywhere on it that it is travel insurance, just that it covers skydiving.

Ok, here's the link and had a quick read. It says the anual policy covers you world wide, but their one jump policy is only valid in the UK?

http://www.extremeplus.co.uk

Is this just designed for tandem passengers? the following is an exclusion from the "Policy for Annual Jumpers"

Quote

as a result of the Insured Person
engaging in flying of any kind
other than as a passenger

I was thinking the same thing, so I emailed the company and have just had this reply.


“Hi Mark,

Thanks for your e-mail. You will be please to know that the answer to your question is yes, you would be covered for personal injury/death if the plane crashed while flying for the purposes of skydiving. The only exclusion to this is the pilot, as they are not covered by this policy.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,
Oliver

Extreme+ Team”


On the face of it, it appears a good policy. For £5 a month your next of kin gets £100,000 if you die, and I’d have got a cheque for £750 for busting my leg last year, and £200 a week while I was off work.

You also get £1,000,000 for medical expenses, but as I understand it you’d have to pay upfront and claim it back, and there’s no 3rd party cover.

PH36 Canopy Formation Team.
www.skydive99.com
www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/PH36-Canopy-Formati

[skydog 2]

For a full discussion check out this thread on UKSkydiver

http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3800&highlight=extreme+insurance

Bryn

Journey not destination.....

[fedykin 0]

There does appear to be a fairly interesting tripod of interests involved here, ill pinpoint a couple

1) The two significant claims mentioned. One of which is involved in a fairly heavy duty PR campaign with the ---Kix scheme to smooth things over. The individual in my opinion(watch the video floating around) was totally at fault, and has almost totaly on thier own pushed up the premiums for the whole of the organisation.

2)As with other organisations where the representatives have a comercial interest in the decisions made, the 'Self Governing' approach becomes a personal self interest protecting approach. Do you honestly think any of the council members will make decisions that directly get in the way of their pesonal interests? If a vote was taken over whether or not to accept the new premium and the innevitable NO came, it would effectively put a freeze on their wages.

3) The 'Local Pub, Local DZ culture in the UK', by and large the UK population tends to take a fairly fatalistic view of price increases, aka Rip off GB, and simply moan about the state of affairs and dig into their wallets, which simply encourages the governing body to act as it chooses knowing that corrective actions outside voting with their feet will not take place.

I vote with my feet and only do the wind tunnel in the UK and jump in Europe and the US, the level, attitude and prices are all better. It would be nice to be able to jump every weekend without hitting EasyJet, but as they say, every artist should suffer for their art.

[trigger 0]

BPA=Ban parachuting altogether

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[skytash 0]

Quote

2)As with other organisations where the representatives have a comercial interest in the decisions made, the 'Self Governing' approach becomes a personal self interest protecting approach. Do you honestly think any of the council members will make decisions that directly get in the way of their pesonal interests? If a vote was taken over whether or not to accept the new premium and the innevitable NO came, it would effectively put a freeze on their wages.

wouldn't it also mean that none of us could jump in the UK either? I get your point about their wages, but I think that it would also affect my ability to drive to DZ in the morning and get back home again that evening after a day's jumping and hanging out with friends.

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[skinnyshrek 0]

So the British pay roughly about 5 times the amount as the USPA and probably jump 5 times less than over here Thank god i left that place 13 years ago

http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

[gjhdiver 0]

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So the British pay roughly about 5 times the amount as the USPA and probably jump 5 times less than over here Thank god i left that place 13 years ago

Me too. I left there in '92. The weather was the least of the obstacles to getting jumps in. The thing is, the BPA has a monopoly on skydiving in the UK. They fought very hard to get exclusivity, to the point of essentially putting non associated drop zones out of business. As a result, the CAA effectively hands them legislative control of jumping.

This has some benefits in that the BPA remains a strong central authority for the sport in the UK for the CAA to deal with. The bad news is that bereft of any real competition, it's been allowed to create a set of operating procedures that defy common sense in many aspects. The membership has two choices for any activity the BPA decides to take. These are a) bend over and grab ankles, or b) don't jump.

I much prefer the US model of voluntary membership of the national body. It's never going to happen in the UK though. Too many vested interests, and too many old sores still festering under the surface from past battles. It's a telling thing that many experienced British jumpers no longer jump in their own country.

Anyone remember A1 skydiving ?

[fedykin 0]

I afraid I don't agree with you concerning your statement that the BPA enable the UK population to jump(ie... no BPA no jumping). It more of a case where they have leveraged themeselves into a position where they are a middleman between the CAA and jumpers. They have effectively made themselves nessessary throughout the past as a means of furthering influence and individual interest.

I would imagine pride has something to do with it as well(British standards must be superior to all others, of course, and of course other qualifications should not be recoginised in the UK).

There was a great deal of jumping before the BPA, and non BPA DZ's were pushed out of operation by a fairly aggressive legal campaign by the BPA, even grandfather rights were eventually shifted.

The US model does seem to operate with much less waste. If an organisation is forced to be relevant, then it tends to be. Neccessity etc...

I really have become cynical...

[trigger 0]

Queation is..what can we,the great british jumping public do to reduce the obscene membership fee's the bpa imposes on us to enable us to jump in our country.

Any idea's anyone.

Abolish the 'SKYDIVE MAG' for starters and don't allow the fee's to fund law degrees if thats the case and crucify those who have a vested interest within the organisation,name names and shame.

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[mr2mk1g 10]

At the end of the day it 's the insurance that is driving the cost up. So:

a) Find an insurance cpmpany that'll cover us for less than £100 a year... (easier said than done - for either individual policies or the group one we currently have).

or

b) Stop having claims against us... (easier said than done - and again, claims against others would affect even the premiums of individual policies).

Sucks doesn't it, and I'm not sure there is actually an easy answer. I guess at some point we've got to come to terms with the fact that getting third party insurance is simply an expense that we have to accept. Driving down the premiums on that policy is a duty on all of us... but again, that's about as much use as saying driving down the premiums on motoring insurance is a duty on all of us... it's easier said than done.